Connectivity
Software (7.5)
The SP-500 UZ comes with Olympus Master Software version 1.31, which looks rather primitive. The opening screen has a slew of randomly placed icons: Online Print, Print at Home, Transfer Images, Browse Images, Backup Images, Create and Share, and Upgrade. Users must first transfer images into the program, which can be imported from the computer or camera. Users can view pictures in a calendar format or in a normal thumbnail format. Once a picture is selected, users have the following options: Properties, Rotate, Find, Edit, Raw, Print Menu, Email, Transfer, Online Print, Share Online, and Help. Printing and emailing is made quite simple: users can still resize the image and select the number of copies and so forth. Most users will access the editing options, but they may be a little disappointed. Rotate, Crop, Instant Fix, Red-eye, and Color Balance are the only options here. There are lasso and magic wand tools to help with selection, but their power is limited because of the options. I realize that there are saturation, contrast, and sharpness options on the camera, but it would be nice to see those options in the editing software as well.
When the Olympus Master Software is loaded onto the computer, a shortcut to ImageMixer appears on the desktop. When I tried to open the program, a window appeared letting me know that it wasn’t available unless the Master Software was upgraded. When I tried to upgrade, the program accessed the Internet and took me to a site that asked for my camera’s serial number and twenty bucks. Needless to say, I saved myself a few dollars and didn’t get the Camedia Master Pro Software, so I can’t tell you what the ImageMixer is like. It’s a gimmick if you ask me.
Jacks, Ports, Plugs (4.5)
The Olympus SP-500 has a small rubber door on each of its sides. The left side’s door reveals the jack for both the A/V and USB 2.0 cables. The right side has a port to an optional power adapter. All of the doors are labeled with black lettering, which is a bit difficult to see.
Direct Print Options (8.0)
Printing from this digital camera is made simple with the Easy Print button atop the camera. The AEL button has a green print icon next to it and serves as just that in playback mode. The SP-500 must be connected to a PictBridge compatible printer with the USB cable for the Easy Print button to really work (otherwise, you’ll get a command to hook it up). With the SP-500’s 6 megapixels, if users don’t crop they can print safely up to 11 x 14 inches and perhaps a bit more.
Battery (4.0)
The Olympus SP-500 is powered by 4 AA batteries that add some heft to the body. AAs are easy to find at convenience stores, but they are not as efficient as the thinner lithium-ion battery packs that are included with many digital cameras. Olympus sells an optional B-9OSU NiMH quick charger and battery set for $40, which may be worth the cash by the time you’ve run through scores of AA batteries. The charger still takes a bit over 4 hours to fully charge.
Memory (3.5)
The Olympus SP-500 comes with 10 MB of internal memory, which quite frankly isn’t enough to do anything. If you plan on using the movie mode or take more than five pictures, consider purchasing an xD-Picture card. The SP-500 accepts xD-Picture cards up to 1 GB.
Other Features (7.0)
Audio Snapshot – This feature must be activated in the mode menu before the picture is taken if the user wants to utilize it. This is a pain, especially if you only want a sound clip with one picture. The camera attaches 4 seconds of glorious monaural audio with each picture in either the recording or playback modes. This is great if you want to capture the "Surprise!" from the crowd as the birthday boy walks into the room.
Panorama Mode – This mode is found within the recording menu and superimposes blue lines on the viewfinder or LCD screen so that users can accurately line up panoramic pictures. When the images are downloaded to the included Olympus Master Software, the program can automatically stitch up to 10 frames together.
Pixel Mapping – This is found within the setup menu and is a pretty rare feature on digital cameras. I tried it (the only option is "Start"), heard a few clicks, and saw a "Busy" message appear on the screen, but didn’t see any noticeable difference. That’s a good thing, I guess. The whole idea of pixel mapping is that the camera can check itself for dead pixels – which every camera has – and replace the missing info with surrounding live pixels. So if everything still looks the same, the camera was probably just fine to begin with. Some digital cameras that don’t have this option must be sent to the manufacturer every few years for this service, so having a pixel mapping option on the camera is a nice touch.
Self-Timer – This Olympus lets users activate the self-timer and get in the picture in a time span of 12 seconds. The orange light on the front of the camera glows steadily for about ten seconds, then blinks and beeps four times before taking the picture.
